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Heart Berkshire (formerly 2-Ten FM) was an
Independent Local Radio Independent Local Radio is the collective name given to commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom. As a result of the buyouts and mergers permitted by the Broadcasting Act 1990, and deregulation resulting from the Communications Act 2003, ...
station, serving
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
and North
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
from studios in
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
.


About

Launched as Radio 210 (Two-One-Oh), the station commenced broadcasting in March 1976 on its medium-wave frequency of 210 metres (1431 kHz). It later became known as 210-FM, later as 2-Ten FM, and was part of
The One Network The One Network was the collective name for thirty-eight regional Independent Local Radio licences operated by GCap Media in the United Kingdom. It was formed from the combination of GWR Group's 'The Mix Network' and Capital Radio Group's 'The ...
group of stations owned and operated by Global Radio by 2008. The station was rebranded a year later as part of the
Heart Network Heart is a British radio network and brand of 13 adult contemporary music, adult contemporary Independent Local Radio, local stations operated by Global Media & Entertainment, Global throughout the United Kingdom, broadcasting a mix of local an ...
.


History

The original parent company, Radio Kennet had won the licence to broadcast as far back as 1974, but plans for the station to float on the
London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...
as soon as it commenced broadcasting failed as it did not raise enough funding. Radio Kennet returned in 1976 as Thames Valley Broadcasting. Radio 210 first broadcast on 8 March 1976 at 6am. Former
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
DJ
Paul Hollingdale Paul Hollingdale (born Paul Wynn; 30 March 1938 – 5 July 2017) was a British radio presenter who presented the first programme broadcast on BBC Radio 2, ''The Radio 2 Breakfast Show'', from 5.30am on Saturday 30 September 1967. He stayed with ...
played
the Carpenters The Carpenters (officially known as Carpenters) were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter, Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinct ...
record "
We've Only Just Begun "We've Only Just Begun" is a single by the Carpenters, written by Roger Nichols (music) and Paul Williams (lyrics). It was ranked at No. 414 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time." Song information The so ...
" at the start of his four-hour breakfast show. Other early presenters were Steve Wright,
Mike Read Michael David Kenneth Read (born 1 March 1947) is an English radio disc jockey, writer, journalist and television presenter. Read has been a broadcaster since 1976, best known for having been a DJ with BBC Radio 1, and television host for musi ...
, Tony Fox (deceased), Steve Crozier, (Yer Man Croze), Mike Matthews, John Flower, Tony Holden, Steve Wood, Mike Quinn, Dave Glass, John Hayes (deceased), Gavin McCoy, Bob Morrison, Graham Ledger, Mike Sanderson (The Folk Show) and news editor David Addis. Rising stars Steve Wright and
Mike Read Michael David Kenneth Read (born 1 March 1947) is an English radio disc jockey, writer, journalist and television presenter. Read has been a broadcaster since 1976, best known for having been a DJ with BBC Radio 1, and television host for musi ...
co-hosted the Read & Wright Show at weekends before gaining daily shows and later pursuing high-profile careers on
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
. Other presenters made the opposite move, leaving the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
to join Radio 210, including Bob Harris and David Hamilton, the latter having defected from
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
because of changes in that station's music policy. Radio 210 initially only served Reading with a transmitter on 97.0 MHz FM on top of The Butts shopping centre; however that changed when it began broadcasting from the Hannington transmitter on a second frequency of 102.9 MHz at midday 1 January 1987 to serve a wider area of
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
and North Hampshire, with a
Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buc ...
relay added in 1997.


Split frequencies

In 1990, Radio 210 split frequencies (as required then to do so by Government due to a radio act recently passed to end simulcasting) to provide two services – Radio 210 FM (Now broadcasting as Heart Berkshire) and 210 Classic Gold Radio. The AM transmitter was actually a relay of Brunel Classic Gold's service from Bristol. Also, broadcast to Bournemouth, Devon, & Swindon. It took a couple of networked shows. One Sunday Lunchtime show with David Hamilton, and also
Jimmy Savile Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile (; 31 October 1926 – 29 October 2011) was an English DJ, television and radio personality who hosted BBC shows including ''Top of the Pops'' and ''Jim'll Fix It''. During his lifetime, he was well known ...
's Saviles Travels (1990–92). It stopped taking that because it was said that they preferred to broadcast their own shows. Classic Gold featured slightly more known presenters like Tony Gillham (head of music), and Trevor Fry.
Paul Burnett Paul Burnett (born 26 November 1943) is an English radio disc jockey. Early career Burnett began his radio career while in the Royal Air Force in the Persian Gulf in 1964. In 1966 he joined offshore radio station, Radio 270, broadcasting off S ...
joined in 1996, and
Tony Blackburn Anthony Kenneth Blackburn (born 29 January 1943) is an English disc jockey, singer and TV presenter. He first achieved fame broadcasting on the pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio London in the 1960s, before joining the BBC, on the BBC L ...
a few years later. They were both dropped in July 2007, when Classic Gold was taken over by
Capital Radio Capital London is a radio station owned and operated by the Global media company as part of its national Capital FM Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Britain's first two commercial radio stations. I ...
, and became known as ''
Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
. Radio 210 claimed to be "the only comprehensive travel service in the Thames Valley and North Hampshire". The station broadcast news bulletins on the hour every hour and regional news during certain points throughout the day.


Network restructuring

On 21 June 2010, Global Radio announced plans to merge Heart Berkshire with
Heart Oxfordshire Heart Oxfordshire (formerly Fox FM) was a local radio station broadcasting to Oxfordshire on 102.6 MHz FM broadcasting, FM from the Oxford transmitting station and 97.4 MHz FM from a relay station at Farthinghoe, near Banbury. Originally la ...
as part of plans to reduce the Heart network of stations from 33 to 15. The new station, '' Heart Thames Valley'' began broadcasting from Reading on 9 July 2010.Heart slims but strengthens
,
RadioToday
', 21 June 2010.


References


External links


Media UK ProfileMemories publicity and jingles of 70s and 80s ILR in the south east
{{Authority control Radio stations in Berkshire Radio stations in Hampshire Culture in Reading, Berkshire History of Reading, Berkshire Radio stations established in 1976
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
Defunct radio stations in the United Kingdom Radio stations disestablished in 2010